Center-dump ballast-car.



Patentadflec. l0, I901.

J. m. HANSEN, v CENTER nun? BALLAST GAR.

(Application filed Dec. 21, 1900.)

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No 688,809. Patented Dec. l0, I90l.

J. M. HANSEN. v CENTER DUMP- BALLAST GAR. (Application filed Dec, 21,1900.) (No Model.) 4 Shaets-Sheat 2.

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v Patnted Dec. an, moi. I J; M. HANSEN. CENTER DUMP BALLAST CAB.

(Ap plication filed Dec. 21, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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No. 688,809. Patented D-ec. l0, 190i.

1 J. M. HANSEN.

CENTER DUMP BALLAST GAB.

(Application filed Dec. 21, 1900.)

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(No IMBI.)

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UNITED STATES STEEL CAR COMPANY, OF TION OF NEW JERSEY.

PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- CENTER-DUM P BALLAST CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,809, dated Decemberl0, 1901.

' Application filed December 21,1900. Serial No. 40,649. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. HANSEN, a citi- Z611 of the United States,residing at Bellevue, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inCenter-Dump Ballast- Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

This invention relates to that class of rail- IO way-cars which are usedfor conveying ballast and the like and which are commonly known ascenter-dump ballast-cars.

The object of the invention is to construct a center-dump ballast-car ofmetal, prefer- I 5 ably plate-steel or sheet-steel, with the partspressed to shape and assembled by riveting. The novel features are theunderframe, adapted to receive the peculiarly-shaped body and reinforcedto resist the strains incident to the disposal of the load in such abody, the gateoperating mechanism, and the provision of extension sidesfor the body, all as I will proceed now more particularly to set forthand finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is ahalf-section and elevation of one form of car containing myimprovements, and Fig. 2 is a top plan view with the body omitted fromthe left-hand end and showing the underframe. Fig. 3 is a cross-section,on a larger scale, showing one form of gate-operating mechanism. Fig. 4is a plan view similar to the left-hand end of Fig. 2, illustratinganother arrangement. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section takensubstantially in the plane of line A B of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a verticalsection illustrating a preferred form of gate-operating mechanism. Fig.7 is a half-section and elevation of the bolster. Fig. 8 is a top planview of part of the toggle-lever mechanism of the gatebperatingmechanism. Fig. 9 is a plan view, and Fig. 10 a side view, of a spreaderforming part of the gate-operating mechanism. Fig. 11 is a top planview, and Fig. 12 an end elevation, of an ear for the spreader. Fig. 13shows in plan and side view a fulcrum for the ear of Figs. 11 and 12.

Fig. 14 is a detail illustrating the mounting of the extension sides.

The trucks, the couplers, and the air-brake mechanism (illustrated inpart in Figs. 1 and 2) may be of any approved construction, andtherefore need no detailed description in this specification. Theunderframe comprises side sills 2 and end sills 3 and draft-riggingsills 4, also of approved construction. The bodybolsters are ofbox-girder type, and the novelty in their construction is asfollowszBetween the side sills are arranged the transverse channeledbeams 5, which constitute the foundation of the body-bolster, and thesebeams 5 are covered in at top by a plate 6, which is riveted to theupper flanges of the beams 5 and is of greatest width in the plane ofthe draft-rigging sills 4 4, the same being also riveted to the flangesof these sills 4 4 and to the flanges of the side sills 2. Also at thetop 'are applied gusset-plates 7 of triangular outline and which areriveted to the upper flanges of the inner beam 5 and the upper flangesof the side sills. The ends of the beams 5 are dished at 8 to provideclearance for the Wheels, and next to these dished portions are securedthe side bearings 9. Between the side bearings and underlying them isthe bottom cover-plate 10, of the outline shown by dotted lines in Fig.2, and, like the plate 6, extending outwardly and having its greatestwidth in the plane of the draft-rigging sills. By this construction oftop and bottom cover-plates and gussets the underframe, including thebolster, is greatly reinforced to resist the shocks and strains imposedupon this portion of the car.

As shown in Fig. 2, the underframe may be further strengthened by theuse of oblique braces 11, which diverge from the bolsterat thedraft-rigging sills toward the angles formed by the junction of the sideand end sills, and these junctions may be further reinforced bygusset-plates 12; or, as shown in Fig. 4., these braces (designated 13inthat figure) may diverge from the draft-rigging sills at the end sillinwardly toward the junction of the bolster with the side sills, andsuitable gusset-plates 14 may be arranged in the angles between thedraft-rigging sills and the end sills. In either case the oblique braceswill be riveted to the top cover-plate and the gusset-plates.

As shown by reference to Figs. 2 and 4, the center sills'15 are out oflongitudinal alinement with the draft-rigging sills. These center sillsare preferably composed of angle steel or iron, rolled or wrought,andtheir ends are bolted or riveted to brackets 16, which in turn aresecured to the beams forming the bolsters. These center sills arearranged at an incline corresponding to the incline of the bottom of thebody, as shown more particularly in Fig. 3. n

The body has the sides 17 of its bottom convergent and meeting insubstantially the longitudinal center of the underframe, while the ends18 are inclined toward the center. Above these inclined portions thebody is extended to form parallel sides 19'and parallel ends 20. Thesesides 19 have bottom flanges 21 (see Fig. 3) to receive the platesform-' ing the bottom 17, and the upper edges of the sides are bentoutwardly to form horizontal flanges 22. bottom flanges 23 and tophorizontal flanges 24. These upper horizontal flanges 22 and 24 greatlystrengthen the sides of the car.

As already stated, the body is mounted immediately upon the center sillsof the underframe, and in order to distribute the load and pressure tothe side sills 2 the said side sills may have interposed between themand the body or center sills the transoms 25 in any of a variety ofways, some of which are shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 7, and the braces 26may project from these transoms to the illverted apexial end of thebody, as shown in Figs. 3 and 7, and upright braces or posts 27 mayconnect the vertical sides of the carbody with the said side sills, asshown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 3. The ends of the car alsomayhave vertical posts or braces 28, which are secured to an angle-piece29, riveted on top of the bolsters, and horizontal braces 30 may connectthe posts 28 with the inclined ends of the bottom of the body. Transoms31-, as shown in. Figs. 1 and 2, may be interposed between the centersills and the inclined ends of the body, or, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5,equivalent transoms 32 may be riveted to the top of the bolsters and tothe inclined ends of the bottom. Each anglepiece 29 extends the wholewidth of the car and serves for making connections of the braces and thevertical corner-posts corresponding to the end posts 28.

The sides of the bottom are'tied together by means ofhorizontally-corrugated gussetplates 33, vertically arrangedsubstantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Two forms of door-operating mechanism are herein shown, differingmainly, however, in details of construction and being substantially thesame in principle.

Similarly the ends 20 have Referring now to Fig. 3, 34 is a shaft supported in bearings 35, which are attached to the inclined side of thecar and provided with any suitable rotating mechanism, such asa lever,and also supplied with any approved locking mechanism, such asa pawl andratchet, as, for example, illustrated in Fig. 6. Any number ofrule-joint levers 36 are pivoted at their outer ends to bearings 37,attached to the side sill 2, and the bearings 38 attached to a door 39,hinged at 40 to the side of the bottom. The levers 36 are supplied Withlinks 41 at their joints, which in turn are connected with a crank 42 onthe shaft 34, so that by rotation of the shaft 34 the levers may bedrawn into the dotted-line position, Fig. 3, to open the door or gateand may be forced into the full-line position to close the gate, and theratchet-and-pawl mechanism may be such as to hold positively thedoor-operating mechanism in either of these two positions.

As shown in Fig. 6, a somewhat modified form of door-operating mechanismmaybe employed, and in this instance there may be one or more levers ofthe rule-joint or toggle variety 43, fulcrum ed at 44 to the side silland connected by a link 45 with a crank-arm 46 on an operating-shaft 47,secured in bearings fixed to the bottom of the car, and the end 48 ofthe lever 43, next adjacent to the gate or door, may be fitted in apocket 49 in a beam 50, which is hereinafter designated a spreader, andthis spreader may reach toward opposite ends of the gate or door and besecured thereto by ear-pieces 51, riveted in the ends of the spreader 50and projecting laterally therefrom in the form of pintle-eyes 52, whichpintle-eyes are secured in brackets or bearings 53, which in turn aresecured to the door or gate. By the use of this lastmentionedconstruction and as shown in Fig. 6 in position and the details of whichare shown in Figs. 8 to 13, inclusive, it may be necessary to employonly one lever 43 for operating the door or gate. Substantially thisform of door-operating mechanism constitutes part of the subject-matterof the Schoen and Hansen Patent No. 647 ,908, dated April 17, 1900.

It is oftentimes desirable to extend the vertical sides and ends of aballast dump-car of this character, and for this purpose I provide themovable extensions 54, which may be boards connected by eyebolts andchains 56 with the sides of the body and adapted to be dropped inside ofthe body when not in use and to be set up on the horizontal flanges 22and 24 to raise the height of the sides and ends and may be supportedand braced in this position by means of U-shaped hooks 57, secured tostakes 58, which may be movably or permanently applied in stake-pockets59, secured to the inner sides of the sides and ends of the body, asshown more particularly in Fig. 3. The end extensions, as indicated incontrol, I am enabled to distribute ballast in Fig. 1, may bepermanently applied to the stakes and remain permanently in position, ifdesired. 1

As indicated in Fig. 3, the air-brake mechanism may be applied alongsideof one of the inclined bottom sides of the car.

Plate or sheet steel or other equivalent metal of sufficient strengthand stiffness and pressed to shape may be used in the construction ofmost or all of the parts herein shown and described, although the centersills may be rolled and the various brackets and bearings may becastings.

By the construction of underframe herein described I obtain greatstrength and stifiness and also great load-sustaining capacity, withfacility of repair, and by the gate-operating mechanism, by means ofwhich the extent of opening of the gate is always under any desiredmanner and quantity, and by the use of the extension sides I can adaptthe capacity of the car to the material of the load.

While the underframe herein shown and described is designed especiallyfor dump ballast-cars, I do not limit its use to that one character ofcar. I therefore reserve the novel features of the underframe of itselfconsidered for a division of this case, filed August 21, 1901, SerialNo. 72,832, to which reference is made. I also reserve for a division ofthis case, filed August 28, 1901, Serial No. 73,612, the claims for thebody-bolster, of

itself considered, and I also reserve for a division of this case, filedAugust 29, 1901, Se- 1 .levers fulcrumed to the side sills of the car atone end and connected with the gate at the other end, an operating-shaftand locking mechanism therefor, and link connections interposed betweenthe said shaft and toggle-levers for actuating the door or gate and forholding it in any desired position, substantially as describe 3. In acenter-dump ballast-car, the combination of a suitable underframe andbody erected thereupon, and having an inverted- V-shaped bottom, andvertical transverse horizontally-corrugated gusset plates secured atintervals crosswise of said bottom and within the body, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day ofDecember, A. D. 1900.

JOHN M. HANSEN.-

Witnesses:

W. D. GEORGE, WM. BIERMAN.

